Vol. 10, no.5 September-October 2006

In preparation for the High-level Dialogue on International Migration and Development, the General Assembly held an informal interactive hearing on 12 July with representatives of non-governmental organizations (NGOs), civil society organizations and the private sector. Mr. Mark Malloch Brown, Deputy Secretary-General, underlines the importance and value of these hearings for the success of the High-level Dialogue. Details are available at
http://www.un.org/esa/population/hldmigration/

in this issue

International Migration and Development the High-level Dialogue will focus on appropriate ways and means to maximize development benefits and minimize the negative impacts of international migration

Feature article

International Migration and Development: High-level Dialogue of the General Assembly

On 14 and 15 September, the General Assembly will discuss in New York the multidimensional aspects of international migration and development to identify appropriate ways and means to maximize its development benefits and minimize its negative impacts.

The potential for migrants to help transform their native countries is capturing the imaginations of national and local authorities, international institutions, and the private sector.

Throughout human history, migration has been a courageous expression of the individual’s will to overcome adversity and to live a better life. Today, globalization, together with advances in communication and transport, has greatly increased the number of people who have both the desire and the capacity to move.

The High-level Dialogue will also have a strong focus on policy issues, including the challenge of achieving the internationally agreed development goals as well as the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

This new era has created challenges and opportunities for societies throughout the world. It has also served to underscore the clear link between migration and development. The report of the Secretary-General on International Migration and Development (A/60/871) seeks to explore these challenges and opportunities and to offer evidence of the changes taking place. It is an early road map for this new era of mobility.

The September’s High-Level Dialogue should be remembered as the moment when cooperation on this vital matter attained a new level. Sovereign States have the right to decide who is allowed to enter their territory, subject to the international treaty obligations they have assumed. But this right should not prevent us from working together to ensure that international migration helps us meet our development goals.

The scale of migration’s potential for good is huge. To take just the most tangible example, the funds that migrants send back to developing countries - at least $167 billion in 2005 alone - now dwarf all forms of international aid combined.

The potential of migration & development

Many new insights into migration and, especially, into its impact on development have been gained. It is understood, better than ever before, that migration is not a zero-sum game. In the best cases, it benefits the receiving country, the country of origin, and migrants themselves.

It should be no surprise that countries once associated exclusively with emigration—such as Ireland, the Republic of Korea, Spain, and many others—now boast thriving economies which themselves attract large numbers of migrants. Emigration has played a decisive role in reinvigorating their economies, as has the eventual return of many of their citizens.

International migration is changing as labour markets and society become more global. Those who emigrate no longer separate themselves as thoroughly as they once did from the families and communities they leave behind.

No longer do the vast majority settle in just a small number of developed countries: about a third of the world’s nearly 200 million migrants have moved from one developing country to another, while an equal proportion have gone from the developing to the developed world. Nor are migrants engaged only in menial activities. Nearly half the increase in the number of international migrants aged 25 or over in OECD countries during the 1990s was made up of highly skilled people.

Promising policy initiatives

In light of these changes, Governments everywhere have an opportunity, and a good reason, to re-examine their international migration and development policies.

There are many ways in which Governments and others could shape the nature of international migration and the distribution of its costs and benefits, thereby making migration work better for everyone.

From promoting entrepreneurship among migrants, to facilitating access to financial institutions, to establishing partnerships to train health and education personnel, there is no dearth of possibilities.

Each of us holds a piece of the migration puzzle, but none has the whole picture. It is time to start putting it together. There is a unique opportunity to do this by identifying, assessing and sharing the many experiments in managing migration now being tried around the world.

Since migration is a global phenomenon - which occurs not only between pairs of countries or within regions, but from almost every corner of the world to every other - it requires our collective attention.

A Global Forum: Improving international learning & cooperation

What are the possibilities of putting together all the pieces of the migration and development puzzle?

This knowledge is scattered not just in the many United Nations offices, funds, and programmes, but also in the halls of Governments around the world, in the minds of experts,

in the experiences of employers, in the activities of civil society organizations, and in the hearts of migrants.

And where would it be best for Governments - in the spirit of investigation and as equals in a collegial environment - to discuss how international migration can be made to work for development?

The United Nations is surely the obvious venue for this exchange of ideas, experience, and lessons learnt. As we continue to explore how the United Nations can better serve its Member States, it is evident that we must be able to facilitate cooperation among Governments on international migration issues, especially those related to development.

A consultative Forum - led by, and open to, all the 191 Member States of the United Nations - would offer Governments a venue in which to discuss issues related to international migration and development in a systematic, comprehensive way.

Organisation of the High-level Dialogue

The High-level Dialogue will consist of four plenary meetings and four interactive round tables. The themes of the round tables are:

Effect of international migration on economic and social development

Measures to ensure respect for and protection of the human rights of all migrants, and to prevent and combat smuggling of migrants and trafficking in persons

Multidimensional aspects of international migration and development, including remittances

Promoting the building of partnerships and capacity-building and the sharing of best practices at all levels, including the bilateral and regional levels, for the benefit of countries and migrants alike

A number a side events will also take place during the High-level Dialogue, including a panel discussion on female migrants, organized by IOM and UNFPA, an event on regional dimension of international migration and development, organized by IOM and Regional Commissions, and an event on migration and development, challenges at the regional level, organized by DESA and Regional Commissions.

The outcome of the High-level Dialogue will be a Chairperson’s summary, which will be widely distributed to Member States, observers, United Nations agencies and other appropriate organizations.

As part of the preparatory activities the General Assembly held also informal interactive hearings with representatives of non-governmental organizations (NGOs), civil society organizations and the private sector on 12 July. This provided an opportunity for these stakeholders to interact with Member States and to offer input to the High-level Dialogue.

Other preparatory events included a panel discussion on International Migration and Development on 4 July and 8 June, an International Symposium on 28-30 June, an expert group meeting in the Arab Region on 15-17 May and the 39th Session of the Commission on Population and Development on 3-7 April.

This article is based on the report of the Secretary-General on International Migration and Development (A/60/871) and its excerpts from the forward, on the document organization of the High-level Dialogue (A/60/864) and the migration fact sheet.

Ad hoc Committee agrees on new UN Convention to protect disabled persons’ right

Negotiators reached a historic agreement on 28 August on this new convention and if approved this fall by the General Assembly, it would be the first new human rights treaty of the 21st century and would mark a major shift in the way the world's 650 million people with disabilities are treated.

The General Assembly President Jan Eliasson welcomes the new convention as a clear demonstration of solidarity with all the people of the world and an absolutely wonderful message in these troubled days that we want to have a life with dignity for all and that all human beings are equal.

The Secretary-General hails the agreement as a historic achievement and notes that people with disabilities have hitherto lacked adequate protection, and hopes that this long overdue Convention will mark the beginning of a new era in which they will have the same rights and opportunities as everyone else. He urges all member states to ratify the Convention and ensure its rapid implementation.

Ambassador Don MacKay of New Zealand, current Chairman of the Ad Hoc Committee said that the text bore the stamp of persons with disabilities whose rich experience, dedication and enthusiasm had been invaluable during the negotiations and vital to the outcome.

Persons with disabilities remain among the most marginalized of all populations and are barred by a wide range of physical, legal and social barriers from achieving their full potential. The new treaty would require countries to guarantee freedom from exploitation and abuse for the disabled, while protecting rights they already have, such as ensuring voting rights for blind person and providing wheelchair-accessible buildings.

Once the Convention is approved by the Assembly, it would enter into force after a minimum number of countries ratify it. The treaty would obligate countries, for instance, to gradually include disability-friendly features into the construction of new facilities; promote and improve access to education and information; and introduce measures that eliminate discriminatory practices against persons with disabilities.

The Convention in brief

The draft Convention recognizes that countries would need some time to fully implement its provisions. It also recognizes that a change of attitude is vital, if disabled people are to achieve equal status as countries that ratify the Convention will be obliged to combat negative stereotypes and prejudices, and to promote awareness of people's abilities and contribution to society.

Countries that join in the Convention engage themselves to develop and carry out policies, laws and administrative measures for securing the rights recognized in the Convention and abolish laws, regulations, customs and practices that constitute discrimination (article 4).

As a change of perceptions is essential to improve the situation of persons with disabilities, ratifying countries are to combat stereotypes and prejudices and promote awareness of the capabilities of persons with disabilities and their contribution to society (article 8).

Countries are to guarantee that persons with disabilities enjoy their inherent right to life on an equal basis with others (article 10), ensure the equal rights and advancement of women and girls with disabilities (article 6) and protect children with disabilities (article 7).

Children with disabilities shall have equal rights, shall not be separated from the parents against their will, except when the authorities determine that this is in the child’s best interests, and, in no case shall, be separated from the parents on the basis of a disability of either the child or the parents (article 23).

Countries are to recognize that all persons are equal before the law, to prohibit discrimination on the basis of disability and guarantee to persons with disabilities equal legal protection (article 5).

Countries are, therefore, to ensure the equal right to own and inherit property, to control financial affairs and to have equal access to bank loans, credit and mortgages (article 12). They are to ensure access to justice on an equal basis with others, (article 13) and make sure that persons with disabilities enjoy the right to liberty and security, and are not deprived of their liberty, unlawfully or arbitrarily (article 14).

Countries must guarantee freedom from torture, cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, and prohibit medical or scientific experiments without the consent of the person concerned (article 15), and protect the physical and mental integrity of person with disabilities. Laws and administrative measures must guarantee freedom from exploitation, violence and abuse. In case of abuse, States shall promote the physical and psychological recovery, rehabilitation and reintegration of the victim and investigate the abuse (article 16).

This article is based on the press release (GA/SOC/4716) issued on 25 August, on the statement of the Secretary-General on 28 August and on the press kit for the Convention.

Global dialogue on development

General Assembly

High-level Dialogue on International Migration and Development

In its resolution 58/208 of 23 December 2003, the General Assembly decided to devote a high-level dialogue to international migration and development during its 61st session. The purpose of the high-level dialogue is to discuss the multidimensional aspects of international migration and development in order to identify appropriate ways and means to maximize its development benefits and minimize its negative impacts. Additionally, the high-level dialogue should have a strong focus on policy issues, including the challenge of achieving the internationally agreed development goals as well as the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

Second Committee

The Second Committee will focus on its traditional agenda items which include macroeconomic issues, sustainable development, financing for development, globalization and interdependence.

The Office for ECOSOC Support and Coordination will help organize several panel discussions and other events to support the work of the Assembly and its Second Committee. The panel discussions and keynote addresses will feature high-level experts including renowned academics, representatives of the United Nations system, civil society and private sector.

The following reports will be submitted to the Second Committee:

The Secretary-General's report on globalization and interdependence addresses the role of innovation, science and technology in pursuing development in the context of globalization.

The Secretary-General's report on the role of the ECOSOC in the integrated and coordinated implementation of the outcomes of and follow-up to major United Nations conferences and summits, in the light of GA resolutions 50/227, 52/12 B and 57/270 B that identify measures that could be taken for the achievement of the United Nations development agenda.

Economic and Social Council

Substantive session of 2006

In his statement to delegates at the close of the session, Mr. Jos� Antonio Ocampo, Under Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs, summarizes key elements of the session.

Mr. President, Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,

We have come to the close of a very successful session of the Economic and Social Council. I would like to congratulate President Hachani and other Bureau members for their leadership and effective management of the Council’s proceedings. I would also like to commend all delegations for the constructive and positive atmosphere that prevailed throughout this session.

The main achievements go beyond the successful and timely conclusion of various segments. Equally important are the messages about the current and future role of the Council. I will focus on both aspects of this session in my remarks.

The Ministerial Declaration on Employment Generation and Decent Work for all identifies a number of concrete steps to further implementation of the 2005 World Summit commitment to make the goal of full and productive employment and decent work a central objective of national and international policies. This comprehensive Declaration calls for the development of ten-year action plans and assigns the Council a role in monitoring progress in its implementation.

Beyond the Declaration are a number of important aspects of the high-level segment itself that I want to underscore. Firstly, ECOSOC has shown that it can effectively address cross-cutting issues like employment in a comprehensive manner with the participation of a significant number of ministers and high-level officials, carrying diverse portfolios such as development cooperation, finance, planning and labour. This testifies to the convening power of the Council and its ability to promote coherent multisectoral approaches to implementing the UN development agenda, of which employment generation has come to occupy a central place.

Secondly, the Council has demonstrated that it can mobilize various parts of the UN system to work together in order to support its deliberations, as evident particularly in our close collaboration from the outset with the International Labour Organization, for which I would also like to extend my sincere thanks and appreciation to Mr. Juan Somavia and his team. We look forward to working with ILO on follow-up to the Declaration.

Thirdly, timely selection of a topical theme is crucial for attracting high-level and diverse participation, as well as for achieving an outcome likely to have far-reaching impact. This lesson has important implications for our work regarding the new functions of ECOSOC, which I will address shortly.

Let me turn now to the theme of the coordination segment, which dealt with another central issue for the on-going efforts to implement the UN development agenda: how to translate economic growth into effective social development, including eradication of poverty and hunger. It became clear during the deliberations that we do not have definite answers in this regard. The Council has thus asked the UN system to continue to study this question. Another important feature of the coordination segment was the follow-up event on Avian Flu.

The operational activities and humanitarian affairs segments showed that no other inter-governmental body can cover those two respective areas of work so comprehensively.

During the operational activities segment, ECOSOC launched the triennial review of funding for development cooperation. This review has highlighted the diverging trends between core and non-core resource flows, the increasing complexity of funding mechanisms, the need to demonstrate results and impact, the multiplication of specific funds, and the challenges associated with the financial sustainability of the UN system’s development cooperation efforts.

The substantive resolution adopted by the Council on operational activities demonstrates its determination to perform its oversight and guiding role by providing detailed guidance to the UN development system to improve its functioning at the country level, as well as guidance to the UN Secretariat to strengthen its assessment and analytical work. This also bodes well for the ongoing efforts to strengthen the links between the UN’s operational and normative work.

During the humanitarian affairs segment, the Council held productive discussions on two of the most crucial issues in humanitarian emergencies: gender-based violence and chronically under-funded emergencies. The segment’s outcome also addresses critical matters like capacity-building, civil-military coordination and the importance of the Central Emergency Revolving Fund. The Council called for a better division of labour between the General Assembly and itself, as well as for consolidation of the humanitarian agenda in the plenary of the Assembly. The forthcoming session of the Assembly will have to look into this issue.

From the array of issues covered in the general segment, I would like to highlight the decisions dealing with the Ad-hoc Advisory Groups on countries emerging from conflict and the follow-up to the World Summit on the Information Society. The resolutions on the former have once again established the primary importance of ECOSOC in the area of long-term sustainable development in post-conflict situations. Continuation of the groups on Haiti and Guinea Bissau shows this. While Burundi will be handled by the Peacebuilding Commission, there is a consensus in the Council that lessons learnt and experiences gained through ECOSOC’s work should be brought to the attention of the various relevant UN bodies. The Secretariat will work with the President and the Bureau of the Council to disseminate this information. I believe that the Council should continue to strengthen its role in the long-term sustainable development of post-conflict countries. At the same time, it should work closely with the Peacebuilding Commission to deal with post-conflict situations requiring urgent attention.

The Council has achieved a major breakthrough in crystallizing its own role and the role of the Commission on Science and Technology for Development in the follow-up to the World Summit on the Information Society. Agreement on a clear and well-defined intergovernmental process, including the additional new tasks for the Commission, together with strong multi-stakeholder engagement in the Global Alliance for ICT and Development are certainly welcome developments and could go a long way in strengthening the UN’s role in the area of information and communications technology for development. Yet these are just first steps; we need now to work collectively to ensure that the potential of ICT for achieving the internationally agreed development goals is fully realized. Notably, the process leading towards the adoption of this resolution also brought various parts of the UN system, namely, DESA, UNCTAD, ITU and UNESCO together. I hope that this collaboration will become a permanent feature of our future work in this area.

Mr. President,

I would now like to turn to the future role of ECOSOC. The dialogue with the co-chairs and some members of the Secretary-General’s High-level Panel on System-wide Coherence helped to underscore the central role that ECOSOC has in the coordination of the UN system—indeed, as the organ specifically tasked by the UN Charter to do precisely that job. The dialogue also pointed up the Council’s role in strengthening the links between the normative and operational activities of the UN system, an issue I referred to earlier. Nonetheless, the role of ECOSOC in guaranteeing the coherence of the system must be matched both by stronger powers and more effective functioning of the Council.

The roundtables held during the high-level segment on the new functions of the Council, the Annual Ministerial Reviews of implementation of the outcomes of the major UN conferences and summits and the biennial Development Cooperation Forum, provide an invaluable opportunity to demonstrate the usefulness of ECOSOC in a renewed global governance. Let me capture in some key messages the very useful discussions that we had on these two functions.

The Annual Ministerial Review has the potential to become the major mechanism to strengthen accountability for international commitments to the agreed development goals and thus for implementation of the UN development agenda by all partners. And the Review should serve as an important platform for promoting unified implementation, by building on the existing reviews, including those by the Council’s functional and regional commissions.

The Development Cooperation Forum will provide the first global platform where all actors involved have an opportunity to engage in a dialogue on the key policy issues affecting development cooperation, in all its forms: multilateral, North-South and South-South. The Forum could promote mutual accountability of donors and recipient countries for living up to international commitments relating to national ownership, alignment, harmonization, scaling-up resources and development results. It would also need to build effective collaborative arrangements with organizers of related fora that influence global and regional policy making in these areas.

For both new functions of the Council, high quality documentation, based on the latest and best available data, and wide participation of stakeholders need to characterize the preparatory process. The effectiveness of the Review and the Forum will depend greatly on intense follow-up, in which the full engagement of all stakeholders will also be required. We look forward to engaging in this task even more actively with our colleagues in the UN system, as well as the Bretton-Woods Institutions, OECD and its Development Assistance Committee, and regional actors. To secure these essential ingredients, the Council and its subsidiary bodies, as well as the Secretariat entities that support them, will need to adopt some innovative approaches.

The new functions have, therefore, the potential to revitalize the role assigned by the UN Charter to ECOSOC as the body for policy coherence. To ensure, however, that these functions are operationalized effectively, we need urgently to take a number of steps.

First, the General Assembly resolution on ECOSOC should be finalized expeditiously. The two co-chairs have already announced a plan for consultations with a view to completing the work by 8 September. The Council’s own work on these two functions should intensify immediately following the adoption of the resolution.

Second, we need to launch the preparatory processes for the new functions at the intergovernmental level and within the UN system. While we have already initiated work with EC-ESA entities and with UNDG, the Council may like to initiate work with its subsidiary bodies and guide them as to how they can contribute to these two functions. The Bureau may also initiate consultations with all relevant stakeholders—among them civil society and the private sector—to seek their active cooperation and participation in the Annual Review and biennial Forum.

Third, Member States need to sensitize their capitals, particularly ministers, about the importance of these two new functions.

In short, Mr. President, ECOSOC is in a critical transitional period in its work. We need to be bold and ambitious, and we need to think outside the box. In this new season of reform and revival at the United Nations, there is a real opportunity to make a qualitative advance in the ECOSOC’s impact and influence. It is time to be courageous in implementing the vision projected by the World Summit last year. It is time to build on the strengths of ECOSOC. It is time to change the image and reality of this central instrument for international economic and social cooperation for development. It is time to make it a true “Parliament for Global Development”, both in practice and perception. This will also go a long way towards reinforcing the image of the UN as the hope and the advocate for the poor, deprived and destitute.

Mr. President, Ladies and Gentlemen,

I would like to take this opportunity also to express my deepest appreciation to Mr. Sarbuland Khan, DESA’s Director for ECOSOC support, who will be leaving the service of the Council this month. This is his last ECOSOC substantive session. He has brought many innovations to the work of this Council. For Sarbuland, supporting ECOSOC has been not only a profession but also a passion. His contributions are many, but both here in ECOSOC and in the Department of Economic and Social Affairs we will miss most his dynamism and creativity. I wish him well in his next career and look forward to working with him again in other capacities.

I would like to wish you all a relaxing and productive summer break, which is not going to be long, as we resume consultations on ECOSOC resolution during the last week of August. This is just an indication of how tirelessly we need to work to ensure that the new functions of ECOSOC will really rejuvenate this central instrument of the UN.

Thank you and Au revoir.

The summary of the closing session including the Vice President’s closing statement can be found at:

2006 resumed substantive session

The 2006 resumed substantive session of the Economic and Social Council will be held in the last quarter of 2006. The exact date of the resumed session will be determined by the Bureau at a forthcoming meeting.

The Council is expected to revert to a number of items deferred from its substantive session and to take action on the recommendations to be adopted in the GA resolution on ECOSOC reform.

Online discussion on the elimination of all forms of discrimination and violence against the girl child

As part of the preparatory process for the 51st session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) in March 2007, which will consider the elimination of all forms of discrimination and violence against the girl child as its priority theme, the Division for the Advancement of Women is holding an online discussion.

The purpose of the online discussion is to contribute to an understanding of the causes and consequences of all forms of discrimination and violence against the girl child and to identify good practices and strategies required to accelerate the elimination of these violations of the human rights of girls. Contributions to the online discussion will provide the background information to a meeting of experts convened by the Division for the Advancement of Women in collaboration with UNICEF at the UNICEF Innocenti Centre in Florence, Italy from 25 to 28 September 2006, to discuss this theme.

OECD Annual Meeting of Sustainable Development Experts

Paris, 13-14 September

At the third OECD Annual Meeting of Sustainable Development experts will discuss the outline for OECD’s contribution to the fifteenth session of the Commission on Sustainable Development on the themes of climate change, energy and industry, among other topics. Ms. JoAnne Disano, Director, Division for Sustainable Development, will make a statement on plans for CSD-15.

Inter-agency Support Group on Indigenous Issues - annual meeting

Rome, 15 -18 September

The Inter-Agency Support Group on Indigenous Issues was established in 2001 as a mechanism to promote indigenous related work within the UN system. The IASG is composed of 29 UN entities and the Council of Europe, the Inter-American Development Bank, the Fondo Indigena as well as the Commonwealth Secretariat.

Since its establishment, the participating agencies host the annual meeting on a rotation basis. In 2006, the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) will host the meeting in the conjunction with the IFAD Governing Council.

The major topic of the 2006 annual meeting will be Development with Identity in support of the main thrust of the Programme of Action of the Second Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples and the special theme Indigenous Lands, Territories and Resources of the sixth session of the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues in 2007.

The coordinator of the Second International Decade, Mr. Jos� Antonio Ocampo, Under-Secretary General of DESA, will address the IASG via video conference. The report of the meeting will be submitted to the sixth session of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues to be held in May 2007.

The Marrakech Task Force meeting on sustainable public procurement

Barcelona, 18-19 September

The Division for Sustainable Development has been supporting the work of the Marrakech Task Force on sustainable public procurement and will be participating in the upcoming meeting, which is being held back-to-back with the EcoProcura 2006 meeting on 20-22 September.

EcoProcura is an initiative of the International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives (ICLEI) and is a leading international forum for bringing together pubic and private stakeholders from all regions of the world to exchange ideas and experience and develop common strategies for sustainable procurement at a global level. DSD will also make a presentation at the EcoProcura conference on the Marrakech Process and the work on sustainable public procurement.

17th United Nations Regional Cartographic Conference for Asia and the Pacific

This conference, convened every three years and organized by the Statistics Division, provides a regional forum for approximately 200 participants, mostly heads of Mapping Agencies and Land Surveys, experts from Asia and the Pacific and other regions, as well as representatives from International and Specialized Organizations.

The conference will address the common needs, problems and experiences in the field of surveying and mapping, cartography, remote sensing, land and geographical information systems, including spatial data infrastructure institutional, economic and capacity building issues.

Contact: Mr.Amor Laaribi, Statistics Division, +1 212/963-3042

Expert group meeting on the elimination of all forms of discrimination and violence against the girl child

In accordance with its multi-year programme of work for 2007-2009, the Commission on the Status of Women will consider the elimination of all forms of discrimination and violence against the girl child as its priority theme during its fifty-first session in 2007.

In order to contribute to a further understanding of this issue and to assist the Commission in its deliberations, the United Nations Division for the Advancement of Women, in collaboration with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), is organizing an expert group meeting on this topic. The meeting will be hosted by the UNICEF Innocenti Research Centre in Florence, Italy.

The overall objective of the expert group meeting is to share achievements, lessons learned and good practices, to critically examine factors that impede the elimination of all forms of discrimination and violence against the girl child and to provide concrete policy recommendations for governments, the United Nations and other relevant stakeholders.

The expert group meeting will be attended by 10 to 12 experts appointed by the Secretary-General of the United Nations as well as by observers from Governments, the United Nations, inter-governmental organizations, non-governmental organizations and academia.

7th Global Forum - High-level organizing committee

New York, 26 September

The Division for Public Administration & Development Management will hold a High-level organizing committee meeting in preparation for the 7th Global Forum on Reinventing Government, which will take place in June 2007, on the theme of Building Trust in Government. Members of the Committee include previous hosts of the Global Forum and current supporters.

Contact: Mr. Shabbir Cheema, +1 212/963-4533

Expert Group Meeting on Indicators of Sustainable Development

New York, 3-4 October

The Division for Sustainable Development is organizing an expert group meeting on indicators of sustainable development. The meeting will finalize the revision of the set of CSD sustainable development indicators.

Experts from various countries across the world and from international organizations will participate in the meeting. The new indicators will provide States an improved blueprint to track national progress towards sustainable development.

Panel Discussion on World Population in the 21st Century

New York, 12 October

The Population Division is organizing this panel discussion which will highlight the findings of the Conference on Trends and Problems of the World Population in the 21st Century that took place in Rome in May 2005, sponsored by the Italian Government.

The panel is expected to give special emphasis to the changes age structures of populations, including ageing, and their implications for development. The panel will also provide input for the upcoming Session of the Commission on Population and Development in April 2007, which will have that topic as its special theme. Panelists will include Antonio Golini (Italy), Andrew Mason (USA), Naohiri Ogawa (Japan) and Elena Z��iga (Mexico).

Contact: Mr. Barry Mirkin, Population Division, +1 212/963-3921

Consultative meeting on integration of older persons in development goals and frameworks

Bangkok, 17-20 October

The Division for Social Policy and Development will hold a Consultative Meeting, in collaboration with the Emerging Social Issues Division of ESCAP, on the implementation of the Madrid International Plan of Action on Ageing at the National Level, funded under the Development Account project Capacity building to integrate older persons in development goals and frameworks through implementation of the Madrid International Plan of Action on Ageing.

This is the first activity under this newly approved project which will run for 4 years. The project will enhance the capacity of stakeholders in the sub-regions of West Africa, Central Asia and the Caribbean to integrate ageing issues in national development frameworks through advocacy and competency-based training and training-of-trainers approach.

A tool kit and training material will be produced to enable other Member States to benefit from the project experiences and lessons learned.

The Consultative Meeting will bring together government and civil society participants from countries participating in the project.

The overall objective is for participants to fully understand project methodologies through their participation in interactive panels and workshops and in the scheduling of project activities.

Contact: Rosemary Lane, +1 212/963-5090

Women, Peace and Security

During the last month of October, the Security Council will hold its annual open debate on women, peace and security.

Security Council Resolution 1325, adopted unanimously in 2000, recognizes the adverse and disproportionate impact of armed conflict on women and girls and the importance of the equal participation and full involvement of women in all efforts for the maintenance and promotion of peace and security. It also recognizes the essential role played by women in conflict prevention, peace negotiations and conflict resolution, peacekeeping and peace building, humanitarian response and post-conflict reconstruction.

In connection with the Security Council open debate, a number of side-events and activities will be organized by UN entities, Member States and civil society organizations.

Contact: Ms.Katarina Salmela, Office of the Special Advisor on Gender Issues and Advancement of Women, +1 917/ 367 2252

Committee of Experts on International Cooperation in Tax Matters

Geneva, 30 October- 3 November

Pursuant to ECOSOC resolution 2004/69 of 11 November 2004, the Committee comprises of 25 members nominated by Governments and appointed by the Secretary-General, with due regard to equitable geographical distribution and representation of different tax systems. As from 2005, the Committee meets on a yearly basis.

The following agenda items will be discussed at this second session:

treaty abuses and treaty shopping

mutual assistance in collection of tax debts

definition of permanent establishment

taxation of development projects

exchange of information

revision of the United Nations Manual for the Negotiation of Bilateral Tax Treaties between Developed and Developing Countries, and

Technical cooperation

Global initiatives

International Seminar on the Hydrogen Economy for Sustainable Development

Reykjavik, 28-29 September

The Government of Iceland and the Division for Sustainable Development are co-organizing an international seminar to discuss technical, policy and financial issues related to hydrogen fuel and sustainable development.

The Seminar will serve as a follow-up to the World Summit on Sustainable Development and the fourteenth session of the UN Commission on Sustainable Development with the aim of bringing together a wide range of stakeholders to explore the role and future of the hydrogen economy in the context of sustainable development.

Final steering committee meeting and workshop on strategic planning of statistical activities

This meeting and workshop is organised in line with the project on strengthening statistical capacity-building in support of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in the region of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).

The main purpose of the steering committee meeting, which will be the last under this project, is to review the project’s final products and, in collaboration with UNSD, ECOWAS Secretariat and UNECA, to chart a way to institutionalize the activities started under the project. This will ensure that there is continuity in the advancement of statistics in the ECOWAS region after the project phases out at the end of 2006.

The workshop will focus on practical approaches managers can use to balance day to day responsibilities with long term objectives; and practical ways on how a major statistical project can be used to further the long term goals of the national statistical system as a whole. The workshop will be attended by more than 40 participants from 16 African countries, the ECOWAS Secretariat and UNECA.

Contact: Mr. Yacob Zewoldi, Statistics Division, +1 212/963-0445

UNGEGN Toponymy Training Course

Maputo, 18-25 September

The course will focus on the basics and methods of work with geographical names, including gathering names information in the field, data processing in the office and through a national names authority, creation and population of a database for records and dissemination of information through maps and gazetteers, among others.

Contact: Mr. Amor Laaribi, Statistics Division, +1 212/963-3042

Workshop on the implementation of the United Nations principles and recommendations for population and housing censuses

Maputo, 30 October-2 November

The United Nations Statistics Division will hold a workshop for English speaking African countries to mainly reach three major goals:

introduce the revised set of principles and recommendations, including the recommended tabulations as a new international standard

provide an opportunity for participants to discuss these standards and to assess their feasibility and implementation in national census practices, and

through national reports prepared for these workshops, produce a list of the most pressing issues that national authorities are facing in preparing and conducting population and housing censuses.

This workshop will allow UNSD the planning of future inter-regional, regional and sub-regional activities as part of the implementation of the 2010 World Programme on Population and Housing Censuses.

Contact Mr.Srdjan Mrkic, Statistics Division, +1 212/963-4940

Asia and the Pacific

Regional forum on reinventing Government in Asia

The Division for Public Administration & Development Management, in partnership with UNDP, the United Nations Governance Centre and the Ministry of Government Administration and Home Affairs of the Republic of Korea, is organizing this forum on the topic of Building Trust in Government: Innovations to Improve Governance.

Approximately 80 people are expected to participate in this meeting, including ministers and senior officials from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Brunei, China, India, Indonesia, Iran, Japan, Laos, Malaysia, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, the Philippines, the Republic of Korea, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Vietnam.

Alongside the regional forum on reinventing Government in Asia, DPADM will hold a regional advisory committee meeting in preparation for the 7th Global Forum, which will take place next year in Vienna, Austria.

The advisory committee composed of academics and specialists on the theme of Building Trust in Government, will provide recommendations for the plenary session topics as well as content and resource people for the 7th Global Forum.

Contact: Mr. Shabbir Cheema, +1 212/963-4533

The 6th annual forum on city informatization in the Asia-Pacific region (CIAPR VI): “ICT for a better life: the role of local government”

Shanghai, 18-19 October

The Division for Public Administration & Development Management will organize, in cooperation with the Shanghai Municipal People's Government, this two-day forum that will provide opportunities to share experiences and current thinking on innovation for public services in the areas of better public service delivery, better connectivity and access for all, better business and development, better participation and citizen engagement, as well as to discuss in-depth how local government can further progress in these areas for the benefit of the citizens.

Following on the heels of the World Summit for the Information Society (WSIS) in Tunis in November 2005, CIAPR VI will address issues of particular relevance to the world community, including steps to bridge the digital divide, e-government for development and the role of public governance authorities and all stakeholders for promotion of ICT for development. Five successful CIAPR forums have been held since 2000 with more than 4,300 participants from 180 cities in 105 countries.

Contact: Ms. Haiyan Qian, +1 212/ 963-3393

Europe and Commonwealth of Independent States

OECD workshop on evaluating effectiveness and efficiency of partnerships

Paris, 12 September

The workshop aims to discuss the purpose and value-added of different types of partnerships, to share lessons learnt in developing and implementing partnerships and to identify the factors of success. The Division on Sustainable Development will make a presentation on the relevant work on partnerships by the Commission on Sustainable Development.

Ad-hoc expert group meeting on ethics, integrity, and accountability in the public sector: re-building trust in Government through implementation of the United Nations Convention against corruption

The Division for Public Administration & Development Management will organize this meeting, in collaboration with the Inter-Parliamentary Assembly, UNDP and other national and international organizations. The general underlying objective is to enable experts to arrive at a consensus on some elements of advice concerning the implementation of the UN Convention against corruption as one of the ways of rebuilding public trust in government.

The materials gathered during this event will be further analyzed and formulated into elaborated tools that can support the design of various systems and institutional capacity building mechanism for effective anti-corruption.

Contact: Mr. Alexei Tikhomirov, +1 212/963-1070

Regional forum on enhancing trust in Government through leadership capacity building

The Division for Public Administration & Development Management will organize this forum, in cooperation with the Inter-Parliamentary Assembly for Commonwealth of Independent States (IPACIS), UNDP and other international and national organizations.

The forum will focus on the following sub-themes:

Ethics, Integrity, and Accountability in the Public Sector

Improving Service Delivery through Decentralised Governance Leadership and

Strengthening Public Sector Leadership through Education and Training.

The principal objective of the forum is to provide an opportunity for senior governmental and legislative officials/experts to review and exchange experiences in managing the on-going economic transformation in Eastern Europe and to share knowledge on enhancing trust in government through critical leadership capacities development.

The participants will include senior government officials in key leadership positions with the responsibility for human resource capacity building from more than 20 transitional economies of CIS, South-East Europe, the Baltics and Central Europe.

Contact: Mr. Alexei Tikhomirov, +1 212/963-1070

Regional workshop on use of administrative data in economic statistics

Moscow, 30 October – 1 November

The United Nations Statistics Division, the Interstate Statistical Committee of the Commonwealth of Independent States and the Federal State Statistics Service of the Russian Federation jointly organize a regional workshop for the Commonwealth of Independent States countries on use of administrative data in economic statistics.

The workshop participants will include country representatives from national statistical offices and governmental agencies maintaining administrative records of statistical significance, as well as experts from several countries with good experience in this area.

The focus of the workshop will be on a number of practical issues such as using of administrative records for updating statistical business registers and compiling of basic economic statistics, creating effective inter-agency cooperation and ensuring necessary legal preconditions for national statistical offices to access such records.

Latin America and the Caribbean

Meeting on indigenous peoples and indicators of well-being

Puerto Cabezas, 4- 6 September

The Secretariat of the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues is organizing this meeting in cooperation with Centro para la Autonomia y Desarollo de los Pueblos Indigenas (CADPI) for the Latin America and Carribbean region.

This meeting is part of a series of regional meetings, including Asia and Africa, and is intended to complement the work of the Inter-Agency Support Group on Indigenous Issues, which is reviewing indicators relevant to indigenous issues within the UN system. It will build on the challenges, gaps, and existing work on global and regional indicators across the mandated areas of the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues.

Contact : Mr. Sushil Raj, SPFII, +1 917/367-5798

Seminar for achieving the MDGs in Latin America and the Caribbean

Santiago, 4-6 September

This seminar is organized by the Development Policy and Planning Office, UNDP, World Bank and ECLAC. DESA will present several papers and coordinate 19 country studies for the region which have looked at the required cost for achieving the MDGs and the economy-wide effects of alternative forms of financing the additional public expenditures.

This activity is closely linked to the development account project of DESA on socially inclusive macroeconomic policies for realizing the MDGs.

Multi-stakeholder workshop on strengthening the business sector and entrepreneurship in developing countries: the potential of diasporas

New York, 5-6 October

The Financing for Development Office, in collaboration with The Indus Entrepreneurs (TiE), will organize this workshop to address the role of diasporas in promoting entrepreneurship in developing countries.

A recurring theme throughout the Monterrey Consensus is the need to foster a dynamic and well-functioning business sector in developing countries. Within this context, increasing attention is being given in both public and private forums to the issue of how the growing diasporas from the developing world could promote the growth and development of businesses and entrepreneurship in their homelands.

A closed expert group meeting will also be held on 5 October and will comprise of practitioners and experts from the private sector, multilateral organizations, governments and academia. On the following day, the participants will brief UN delegates in an open plenary session on the outcomes of the discussions held during the previous day and encourage feedback from member states.

The findings and recommendations of the workshop and related consultations will serve as an input to the preparation of the 2007 High-level Dialogue of the General Assembly on Financing for Development.

Publications and websites

Technical reports

Report of the Secretary-General on international financial system and development (A/61/136)

This report is structured around two topical areas. The first section examines the pattern of an increasing net outward transfer of financial resources from developing to developed countries. It further discusses appropriate levels of reserve accumulation and surveys the recent evolution of international official and private capital flows to developing countries.

The second section focuses on recent efforts to reinforce the role of the international financial system in supporting financial stability. It reviews issues related to international monetary cooperation, multilateral surveillance, international standards and codes, crisis resolution, official liquidity provision and International Monetary Fund engagement with low-income countries.

Report of the Secretary-General on follow-up to and implementation of the outcome of the International Conference on Financing for Development (A/61/253)

This report provides updated information on the implementation of the Monterrey Consensus of the International Conference of Financing for Development, including concrete recommendations for follow-up action. It reflects progress that has been made in the areas of mobilizing domestic resources, increasing both official assistance and private financial flows, and providing more extensive debt relief.

However, progress in trade, which has a larger and more permanent potential benefit for developing countries, has stalled and prospects for completion of the Doha Round by the end of 2006 are negligible. The report also outlines the activities that have been undertaken to ensure the engagement of all major stakeholders in continued discussions of issues related to the follow-up process.

This book presents an assessment of the role, performance and practice of the ECOSOC Ad Hoc Advisory Groups on African Countries Emerging from Conflict. The mandate of these groups is to prepare recommendations for a long-term programme of support and provide advice on how to ensure that the assistance of the international community is adequate, coherent, well coordinated and effective.

This experience constitutes a new form of international support to countries emerging from conflicts within multilateral institutions. The lessons learned from their work are particularly relevant in the context of the increased role of the United Nations in the field of peace building.

Geography against development: A case for landlocked developing countries

Landlocked countries are among the most disadvantaged and underachieving countries in the world. This publication attempts to analyze the impact of geographical handicaps on external trade and economic development of landlocked developing countries and to identify practical solutions to address them.

E-Government Readiness Knowledge Base (UNKB)

This database provides governments and civil society with an easy access to information and data for research, education and planning related to global e-government. The user may view, sort and print information from the UN E-Readiness Data Center, or download copies of the annual (2003, 2004, 2005) UN Global E-Readiness Report and Survey.

A Brief Guide to Youth Delegates to the United Nations General Assembly

The UN Programme on Youth, Division for Social Policy and Development has produced a short and concise guide for Governments on the role of national youth delegates to the General Assembly and to other relevant meetings of the United Nations. The Guide draws attention to General Assembly resolutions regarding youth representatives to the United Nations and outlines possible roles and responsibilities as well as existing selection processes for youth delegates.

Statistical compilations

Monthly Bulletin of Statistics and MBS

The bulletin provides monthly statistics on 50 subjects from over 200 countries and areas, together with special tables illustrating important economic developments. Quarterly data for significant world and regional aggregates are included regularly.

ST/ESA/STAT/SER.Q/399

Vol.LX – No.3

March 2006

Special features in this issue: Retail price indices relating to living expenditures of United Nations officials; Fuel imports, developed economies: unit value and volume indices; Indicators on fuel imports, developed economies; Registration of new motor vehicles; External trade conversion factors; Manufactured goods exports: unit value indices, volume indices and value; Selected series of world statistics.

ST/ESA/STAT/SER.Q/400

Vol.LX – No.4

April 2006

Special features in this issue: World shipbuilding; Civil aviation traffic: passenger-km, cargo net ton-km; Total exports and imports by countries or areas: volume, unit value, terms of trade and purchasing power of exports, in US dollars.

ST/ESA/STAT/SER.Q/401

Vol.LX – No.5

May 2006

Special features in this issue: Indices of world industrial production by branches of industry and by regions; Producer price indices; Earnings in manufacturing, by sex; Construction of new buildings; Total exports and imports by regions: volume and unit value indices and terms of trade.

ST/ESA/STAT/SER.Q/402

Vol. LX – No.6

June 2006

Special features in this issue: Retail price indices relating to living expenditures of United Nations officials; Fuel imports, developed economies: unit value and volume indices; Indicators on fuel imports, developed economies; Registration of new motor vehicles; External trade conversion factors; Manufactured goods exports: unit value indices, volume indices and value; Selected series of world statistics.

Contact: Ms. Adriana Skenderi, Statistics Division, +1 212/963-4602

2003 Energy Statistics Yearbook

The 2003 Energy Statistics Yearbook is the forty-seventh in an internationally comparable series of commercial energy statistics summarizing world energy trends. Annual data for 215 countries and areas for the period 2000 to 2003 are presented on production, trade and consumption of energy: solids, liquids, gaseous fuels and electricity.

In addition, per capita consumption series are also provided for all energy products. A selection of graphs shows historic trends and/or changes in the composition of the production and/or consumption of major products. Special tables of interest include: international trade tables for coal, crude petroleum and natural gas by partner countries, providing information on the direction of trade; selected series of statistics on fuel wood, charcoal and bagasse; refinery distillation capacity and a table on selected energy resources.

Contact: Mr. Karoly Kovacs, Statistics Division, +1 212/963-4748

Population and Vital Statistics Report

This issue of the Population and Vital Statistics Report presents data for countries or areas on population size (total, male and female) from the latest available census, estimated total population size for 2003 or 2004 (the later available year) and the number and rate of vital events (live births, deaths and infant deaths) for the latest available year since 1980.

These data are presented as reported by national statistical authorities to the Demographic Yearbook of the Statistics Division of the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs. This issue also presents data for the world and its major areas and regions on estimated population size (total) for both 2003 and 2004. These estimates were prepared by the Population Division of the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs.

Contact Mr.Srdjan Mrkic, Statistics Division, +1 212/963-4940

Working papers

Openness, Inequality and Poverty in Africa

This paper explores the relationships between openness, poverty and inequality in Africa. The analysis begins with a review of social development on the continent since 1980. It is followed by a discussion of openness and a lengthy exploration of the patterns of trade and finance that link Africa to the rest of the world. The macroeconomic policy framework that guided African policymaking over the last three decades is the lens through which poverty and inequality are further examined. The paper highlights the major factors underpinning openness and social development, and concludes with policy.

Websites

Millennium Development Goals Indicators: The official United Nations web site for the MDG indicators

Global CIO Forum on Information Technology for Official Statistics

Comings and goings

Comings

Mr. Nikhil Seth was appointed as the Director of the Office for ECOSOC Support and Coordination on 1 August. Prior to joining DESA, he was the Chief of the ECOSOC Servicing Branch and Secretary of ECOSOC and the Second Committee for three years in the Department for General Assembly and Conference Management. He joined the United Nations in 1993 as Special Assistant and Chief of Office to Mr. Nitin Desai, Under-Secretary-General in the Department for Policy Coordination and Sustainable Development (DPCSD), the predecessor of DESA. Mr. Seth joined the Indian diplomatic service in 1980 after studies in economics and a brief stint as a lecturer in economics at the University of Delhi.

Goings

The following staff members retired from the organization between 1 June and 31 July.

Mr. German Cortes, Statistics Assistant, Population Division

Ms. Janet Echevarria, Secretary, Financing for Development Office

Mr. Della Wong, Research Assistant, Division for Social Policy and Development

Workshop on the implementation of the United Nations principles and recommendations for population and housing censuses

Observances

International Day of Older Person

Women make up a clear majority of the world's older persons, underscoring the need to recognize the different impact of ageing on women and men, to ensure full equality between them, and to integrate both a gender perspective and an age perspective into legislation, policies, programmes and efforts to eradicate poverty.

International Day for the Eradication of Poverty

The day has been observed every year since 1993, when the General Assembly, by resolution 47/196, designated this day to promote awareness of the need to eradicate poverty and destitution in all countries, particularly in developing countries. This is a need that has become a development priority.

At the Millennium Summit, world leaders committed themselves to cutting by half by the year 2015 the number of people living in extreme poverty - people whose income is less than one dollar a day.

United Nations Day

The anniversary of the entry into force of the United Nations Charter on 24 October 1945 has been celebrated as United Nations Day since 1948. It has traditionally been marked throughout the world by meetings, discussions and exhibits on the achievements and goals of the Organization. In 1971, the General Assembly recommended that Member States observe it as a public holiday (resolution 2782 (XXVI)).

Anniversary of Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace & Security

Resolution 1325 (2000) holds out a promise to women across the globe that their rights will be protected and that barriers to their equal participation and full involvement in the maintenance and promotion of sustainable peace will be removed.

DESA News is an insider's look at the United Nations in the area of coordination of economic and social development policies. The newsletter is produced by the Communications and Information Management Service of the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs in collaboration with DESA Divisions, and is issued every two months. Contact: Communications and Information Management Service, + 1 212/963-5874